Modems today have changed little in the last 25 years. Typical modems offer little if any processing power and can only be used with a given technology, network or connection. The processing power, if any, is typically limited and of little practical use in many applications today. Such modems do not support full operating systems, and offer the user limited, if any, programming flexibility. Changes as simple as network password changes have required the modems to be uninstalled and sent to the manufacture for reprovisioning. Such modems are not SOAP XML Web Services compatible and cannot take data from a given data source and convert and send it in the now common XML format. They also are not modular—if any given component fails, if there is a change in communications carriers, or if a given communication carrier phases out one technology and migrates to another (as with the migration by the former ATT Wireless from CDPD to GPRS), the modem typically has to be replaced—they are not modular in nature and given components cannot be easily and cheaply replaced. These limitations become especially acute and cost prohibitive in telemetric and other applications where the modem must operate without manual intervention and/or in series with other equipment which has no or limited processing power (i.e. other “dumb” devices). For whatever the reason, not the least of which is pricing pressures, much of the equipment used for example in industry, security, telemetric, and intelligent transportation systems, carry little onboard processing power and/or require a separate laptop or other computer to operate, download and/or forward the applicable information. The addition of such laptops and other external computers is generally either impractical (such as in unmanned and roadside applications) or cost prohibitive (generally doubling or more the cost of the modem itself). Furthermore, any given user may need connectivity for equipment located in different carrier service areas and/or with different types of connections (e.g. different wireless carriers, network connections, fiber connections, etc) and multiple types of data sources and inputs (multiple serial and USB inputs, as well as potentially video, sound, etc.). For national and international applications, and even applications on statewide and local levels, flexibility in communication options and data collection options is important, as is the ability of the user to program the modem, add network security, store and forward data, and transfer the information in XML format via SOAP XML Web Services and/or such other format as their systems require. The ability to receive and process dynamic instructions is also important but often missing or severely limited, and traditional modems do not enable the type of remote access and upgrades (complete operating systems and applications) that are necessary to collect data and/or communicate with disparate equipment in use today and newer equipment ever being developed and deployed.
Associated security measures further punctuate the need for greater flexibility and power in the modems. For example, dynamic IP addresses are being deployed in many contexts including by wireless commercial carriers in their 3G and beyond wireless data services. Dynamic IP's present a significant departure from the static IP's associated with historic poling practices and wireless CDPD functionality which had been the mainstay of wireless data collection prior to the advent of 3G functionality. Again, the ability to add intelligence to the modem, and to enable greater programming and application support becomes important to enable the otherwise “dumb” devices to return their new IP addresses and thus facilitate remote access and/or to transmit data and information back on an automated push (instead of pull) basis. Therefore, a need exists for a more powerful and flexible modem device that can be more easily programmed, that carries greater processing and storage capabilities, that can take various data feeds, that does not require a separate laptop or other computer to function, and that can readily and interchangeably work with a variety of communication connections and options. A tremendous need exists for a new modem device with sufficient flexibility and power to be used with relative ease in the various situations.